Gua Tempurung, a name familiar to many as a term in secondary school geography syllabus, has yet to teach its pupils on the beauty that lies within. Not being a fan of the nature, unlike Jason, whose adventures during the teenage years were more than enough to compile a 50 pages journal, no less, has moved me into an exploration.
To begin with, Gua Tempurung was not even close to secluded as what I would have imagined it being in a jungle, surrounded by tall trees that take a whole lot effort just to get there. In fact, a straight highway guidable by Waze, few tourism buses, and many private cars during the weekends made this place hard to be missed.
Few options available when it comes to explore the limestone cave. For those who are more comfortable with leisure stroll or prefer not getting wet, dry tours to Golden Flowstone or Top of The World would be the choices. Else, the adventurous ones can always go for wet tours of Top of the World & Short River Adventure or the Grand Tour.
Their short-handed issue on the day itself gave us an advantage of wandering at our own pace. What supposed to be 1 hour and 45 mins Top of the World tour took us about 3 hours to complete. The distance was the same of course, but the cooling condition in the cave was what enables us to enjoy the magnificent view a bit longer. One will get sweaty nevertheless, upon climbing 640 steps in just one way. In another analogy, that’s pretty much double of the famous Batu Caves stairs (272 steps).
Stalagmites and stalactites on walls and ceilings take various astounding sizes and shapes that some say images of dolphin, jellyfish, lion and so on come into view, but only to the eyes of the observant.
Lastly, the brilliant design of convenient walkways along with beautifully illuminated walls in different hues has enriched the tour experience as well as appreciation towards the nature.
Absolutely breathtaking.